James Franco and Anne Hathaway will host the Oscars

By
Jen Chaney

Anne Hathaway ... (AP)

Update: The Academy has issued a press release confirming that Anne Hathaway and James Franco will indeed host the Oscars, as originally reported by Deadline. (This blog post was updated after originally being posted at 11:38 a.m.)

Deadline is reporting that Anne Hathaway and James Franco *may* -- key word: may -- be hosting this year's Academy Awards.

The HBO-series-inspiring Nikki Finke reports that an offer has been extended to the multitalented actors and that it "looks like" both have accepted.

Here's hoping this is true. The concept of the "Love and Other Drugs" and "127 Hours" stars teaming up for the gig makes really, really good sense for numerous reasons. But here are the four most important ones.

... and James Franco, your potential Oscar hosts. (AP)

1. Choosing Franco and Hathaway will finally demonstrate a commitment to a younger Academy Awards audience. Academy officials have long worried about Oscar ratings, especially among younger viewers. But while their more daring host choices -- Jon Stewart, Chris Rock -- have hardly been elderly, they wouldn't officially qualify as young, either; Rock was 40 when he hosted, and Stewart was 43. Franco and Hathaway, on the other hand, are 32 and 28, respectively. It's unclear whether their involvement will motivate 22-year-olds to tune in, but it's a step in the right direction.

2. Hathaway is multitalented. She joined Hugh Jackman onstage during the 2009 Oscars and knocked their portion of the musical number out of the park. And as she's demonstrated in everything from Sesame Street videos to her hosting turns on "Saturday Night Live," she can handle comedy as well as drama. We'd love to see what she does on a high-profile live program such asthe Oscars.

4. There is potential for both hosts to be Oscar nominees this year. Hathaway and especially Franco are both in the mix as possible nominees. To watch a host win an Oscar during the ceremony would be unprecedented and add another element of watch-worthy suspense to the event.

In short, if Finke's report isn't on the money, somebody should make this happen anyway. Stat.

It's HUGE mistake to have hosts that are very likely to be nominated for acting awards. It's too much like the Grammy's "perform and win" senario that plays out dozens of times through "music's biggest night."

I was concerned that last year's show would have a similar fate with the buzz surrounding Baldwin and Martin's performances in "It's Complicated," but it's almost a mortal lock that Franco is nominated for "127 Hours," and "Love and Other Drugs" could give Hathaway a best actress Oscar nomination if no other female performances over the next month stand out.

It takes a serious chunk of credibility away from your show to have both hosts nominated for awards. There are tons of other young celebrities that could team up for the hosting gig. How about Scarjo and Seth Rogen or Maggie and Jake Gyllenhall? Or how about, GASP, they go back to a singular host and let the hottest late night guy, Conan O'Brien, take a stab at the biggest hosting gig?